Harley Davidson FXR Fixer Upper

Todd Peppard has always “fixed up” everything he owns, whether it’s a bike, a car or a truck. So the first day he owned this ’87 FXR, he started detailing it. After entering and winning quite a few shows with only a little work invested in the bike, Todd caught the fever. Over the next six months, he went through the entire bike, customizing nearly everything to take it as far as he could without sacrificing ridability.

The engine is mostly stock. Todd added S&S rods, an Andrews cam, lifters and pushrods, a Screamin’ Eagle carburetor, a Dyna ignition and an owner-modified Custom Chrome exhaust system. The distinctive air cleaner is from L.A. Customs. The stock transmission was retained, but a Barnett Kevlar clutch was installed.

Stance is everything, so the rear suspension received a pair of Progressive Suspension shocks and the front was tuned up with a White Brothers 1¼-inch lowering kit. The rear swing arm was modified to accept the shocks and then powdercoated by Sumax. The rolling stock includes a 16-inch rear Performance Machines (PM) wheel and a 21-inch Akront front wheel, both wrapped in Avon rubber. PM brakes were used front and rear to slow the bike down in a hurry.

The flames-over-black paint job, applied by L.A. Customs, accents the custom touches Todd added, such as the handmade billet headlight and fender plates for the Arlen Ness front fender.

Todd says that he’s itching to build another bike that’s even wilder than this one, but he has to finish one for Chris Peppard (his wife), since she helped so much with this FXR.